Rounds Statement on Official VA Action to Keep Hot Springs VA Campus Open

FORT PIERRE—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today issued the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) decision to rescind its Record of Decision regarding the Hot Springs VA Medical Center.

“The Hot Springs VA facility is among the best in the country,” said Rounds. “Today’s notification is the result of a years-long battle to keep the facility open and make sure veterans from across the region are able to continue receiving the same top-notch care in the future. We thank VA Secretary Robert Wilkie for fulfilling the promise he made to keep the facility open after his visit to Hot Springs earlier this year. The action that Secretary Wilkie took today to have this revision published in the Federal Register means our long fight is over and we have officially secured Hot Springs as a location that will continue to offer significant services to our veterans. Today is a great day for ‘The Veterans Town!’”

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie notified Sen. Rounds today that the January 3, 2017, Record of Decision for the proposed Reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System Environmental Impact Statement and Integrated Section 106 Consultation is rescinded.

Rounds will immediately begin to work with the South Dakota delegation to remove the statutory prohibition of VA realignment of the Black Hills Health Care System.

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